4 ms·

But using `(` in vim to move the cursor backwards by a sentence is probably better than using a mouse--which involves locating the previous sentence, locating t

But using `(` in vim to move the cursor backwards by a sentence is probably better than using a mouse--which involves locating the previous sentence, locating the mouse, locating the mouse cursor, moving it to the spot, and clicking.

jff 15y ago
You're manipulating words to make the mouse operation sound more arduous than it is. Similarly, I could say "when using the keyboard, you have to recognize that you wish to move the cursor backwards by what vi arbitrarily calls a sentence, then remember what the command you want is, then hold down the shift key, then hit the '9' key, then locate where the cursor has jumped to". The user knows where the mouse is, and as soon has he grabs the mouse and starts to move it, the location of the cursor becomes evident. Moving to the spot and clicking is then an exercise in the kind of hand-eye coordination most people master by the age of 3.
- javert 15y ago
  I really disagree. Getting around in text with a mouse is unbelievably tedious once you learn the shortcuts in Vim.
  - jokermatt999 15y ago
    I think part of it is that there's a (much dreaded) context switch from keyboard to mouse. Even if I can click a spot in text quicker with a mouse, I'll often just stick to the keyboard to retain my "flow state". I might trade off some time, but it keeps me slightly more focused.
  - jff 15y ago
    Getting around in text with a mouse in Vim is probably unbelievably tedious, because you're using an editor designed in the 70s to be used with the ADM-3 terminal, from which a mouse was definitely absent (I have one in the closet, it's nice but doesn't even have a microprocessor, just TTL :)
    - javert 15y ago
      Right, that's why I use Vim. I mean, sure, in Word, I can hit the "Home" key, if I want to make things harder for myself than Vim but easier than mousing around. But that's about all.
chc 15y ago
That's an interface created for a keyboard manipulating text, not the keyboard directly simulating the movements of a virtual mouse — remember, this is supposed to be the equivalent of a mouse pressing buttons on a virtual keyboard. Trying to use the keyboard to simulate mouse movements is simply frustrating, and I say that from experience.

jff 15y ago

You're manipulating words to make the mouse operation sound more arduous than it is. Similarly, I could say "when using the keyboard, you have to recognize that you wish to move the cursor backwards by what vi arbitrarily calls a sentence, then remember what the command you want is, then hold down the shift key, then hit the '9' key, then locate where the cursor has jumped to". The user knows where the mouse is, and as soon has he grabs the mouse and starts to move it, the location of the cursor becomes evident. Moving to the spot and clicking is then an exercise in the kind of hand-eye coordination most people master by the age of 3.

javert 15y ago
I really disagree. Getting around in text with a mouse is unbelievably tedious once you learn the shortcuts in Vim.
- jokermatt999 15y ago
  I think part of it is that there's a (much dreaded) context switch from keyboard to mouse. Even if I can click a spot in text quicker with a mouse, I'll often just stick to the keyboard to retain my "flow state". I might trade off some time, but it keeps me slightly more focused.
- jff 15y ago
  Getting around in text with a mouse in Vim is probably unbelievably tedious, because you're using an editor designed in the 70s to be used with the ADM-3 terminal, from which a mouse was definitely absent (I have one in the closet, it's nice but doesn't even have a microprocessor, just TTL :)
  - javert 15y ago
    Right, that's why I use Vim. I mean, sure, in Word, I can hit the "Home" key, if I want to make things harder for myself than Vim but easier than mousing around. But that's about all.

chc 15y ago

That's an interface created for a keyboard manipulating text, not the keyboard directly simulating the movements of a virtual mouse — remember, this is supposed to be the equivalent of a mouse pressing buttons on a virtual keyboard. Trying to use the keyboard to simulate mouse movements is simply frustrating, and I say that from experience.